Despite the fact that I was heavily involved in my school's newspaper and yearbook in highschool (I edited both), when I announced I wanted to go to college for journalism, many were shocked. People, as kindly as they could, told me I should chose something else. Instead they told me to study English or communications, just not journalism. I was promised I would be more successful and happy working in a different field. "Journalism is dead," they would say.

But I didn't want to teach English or do a company's public relations. I wanted to go out into the world and tell the stories that don't get told. I wanted to be there when history happens, and record it. It wasn't about seeing my face on TV, it was about truth, and honor, and all of the virtues I wished to return to our media.

If it had been twenty years ago, or even ten, my job choice might have not been as outlandish. Today we are in an era of transition from the longstanding titans of media; papers and TV, and into the seemingly anarchic world on the Internet. Gone are the gatekeepers who kept journalism a lofty art form, and now its a democratic free for all.

Or so everyone kept telling me.

Regardless of what people told me, I decided to major in journalism. I was lucky. Not only was I accepted into an amazing journalism school with a brand new building, but I got to study under a dean and professors that had decades of experience doing exactly what I wanted to do. I took classes that made me fall in love with journalism more and more every day, and I got to meet people who were doing the same.

Two years on, I still get the same comments, but now I'm prepared with the truth. Journalism isn't dying. Old fashioned journalism is, but the art form itself is just reinventing itself. Now I'm able to defend my feature, or at least try to, from all of the well-meaning but disdainful individuals in my life.

Firstly, what a few years of world events. It seems like anything that could happen, has happened lately. Every day there is a new life-changing event that changes how we view our society. To me and many others, it feels like we have entered a new era of change. What better time is there to refine my love for journalism than to wake up every morning and see people who will one day be my peers reporting on such influential news? Our world is rapidly refining itself, and media is deeply involved in this. No one can say the media isn't powerful. Some would argue too much so.

"Fake news" has become a buzzword almost everyone is familiar with. Both sides of party lines throw it around, and the term has lost its meaning. "Fake news" can mean anything from outright unethical lies to just news one doesn't like.

I'm well aware of this issue. Trust me.

I won't deny that the morals behind some news outlets is questionable, and not just from one side. The fact that news has become so loyal to parties is in itself a problem. Journalism isn't supposed to be influenced by the reporter's personal beliefs. And while it's nearly impossible to avoid all bias, it's the job of the reporter to try.

Studying journalism now, when there's so much controversy on the subject, has given me amazing examples of what not to do. Ethics has been preached at us students so our generation of journalist won't repeat the sins of our forefathers. And I promise we're trying.

Speaking of "us," that's changing too. What it means to be a journalist has changed to. There's no longer a binary between print and broadcast journalism. The modern journalist does it all. We write, edit, take photos, edit those photos, shoot video, you name it. We're learning to do everything ourselves, and have become self-sufficient and mobile. One journalist today can do what a team did in the past. When I go out to cover an event I just don't take a notepad. I'm making recordings and taking pictures, and then I use my laptop to create visuals and to tie everything together.

Like I keep repeating, we're adapting.

Learning all of this in an amazing school has given me an edge. When I graduate and am able to join the workforce, I'll be a part of a new breed of journalism.

With journalism reinventing itself, it's hard to wonder about its future. As someone very in love with the craft and ready to face its flaws, I'm excited to embrace this future.

Next time you think journalism is dead, think again. Remember me and many people like me are out there, working tirelessly to deliver the truth.